Quiet Tears and Winds Unknown
by firstlightofdawn
Summary: Modern!AU. There was blood everywhere. Whether it belonged to me or the person at my side I did not know, but I was almost floating in a puddle of it and it smelled, bad. You could smell it for miles, and that meant sooner or later some animal was going to come through here hoping to score an easy dinner.


**D****isclaimer: I do not own Assassin's Creed or any of Ubisoft's original characters.**

* * *

It was raining. With the rain came a gross, unsettling feeling and there wasn't much anyone could do to stop that. Puddles kept growing larger and larger and mud was everywhere. Clouds covered all of the sky to the point no blue could be seen, and although it was still day, there was no trace of the sun. That was to be expected of the weather in Washington.

Heavy curtains had been draped over the large window in an attempt to prevent someone from looking in, and in the process it blocked off what remaining daylight was left from entering the room. The fire crackled from the other side of the living room, illuminating the small room only dimly. Connor had perched himself on the edge of a stool by the window with a water bottle and a piece of paper, but an hour later, the empty bottle sat discarded on the windowsill and the paper lay in shreds at his feet. The curtain had been pulled aside just wide enough to let Connor see the driveway and anyone walking down the street, but not enough for anyone to see him sitting there. He'd sat like that for the past hour, his knees bouncing anxiously and his fingernails bitten down to a nub.

Altaïr hadn't returned yet.

On any other occasion Connor wouldn't have paid it mind and continued going about his own business. Gone with him, even. But after the trip back from Boston, certain matters had insisted that additional safety precautions be enforced. And any trips from the house that were longer than necessary were violating those precautions.

The store was a twenty minute walk away; he should have been back by now.

Someone groaned and there was the sound of blankets rustling, and Connor's eyes shifted from the window to the corner where a dark figure rolled over. After it was still, his eyes returned to the window and were greeted with still no sign of any human being. Another ten minutes passed and Connor felt a growing weight in his chest, getting heavier and heavier the longer Altaïr was away. They'd come too far to be caught so soon, and giving up hadn't even become an option. Altaïr was tough, tougher than most and Connor knew that. But even still, he was just a man and could still be overpowered.

Another twenty minutes had passed before Connor stood up, the anxiety pulsing through his body keeping him incapable of sitting still. That's when he heard it. A rustling, coming from the back. Connor froze, turning towards the sound. Even if Altaïr had gotten caught, he would never betray his friends, and there was no way they could be found after such a short period of time.

He slowly pulled out his tomahawk from his belt and crept through the living room towards the back door, careful not to make any sounds. It was beginning to get dark outside, and he didn't want to get worked up and anxious over something that could easily be an animal.

The doorknob jiggled, locked. Animals couldn't open doors.

Connor crouched down, creeping his way along the wall towards the door. He got to the side of the doorframe and stopped, reaching out to the end of the curtain and peeking through it to the other side. Even in the dim light he could recognize the proud posture and golden twinkle in the figure's icy glare.

Connor immediately flung open the door and pulled the figure into the dining room.

He was covered in splotches of mud and soaked to the bone, but he was in one piece and that Connor was thankful for.

"Where have you been?" He bluntly asked, placing his tomahawk back into it's sheathe. The faint light of the sunset shone through the open door and sparkled in the water drops on his coat.

Altaïr slammed the door and hastily marched his way into the living room, ignoring his question and not bothering to remove his shoes or soaking overcoat. "How's Ezio?"

Connor quickly followed him through the house. "Worse. His fever is rising and he hasn't woken up."

They made their way to where their friend lay stark naked on the floor, tangled in blankets and beads of sweat and his discarded clothes strewn around the room. Altaïr crouched down beside him and flung open a first aid kid; the reason he'd left the house in the first place. Ezio was in worse condition. His face was pale and hairline dripping with sweat and his muscles twitched every once in a while. Connor went into the kitchen and returned with a soaking dishtowel to lay on Ezio's forehead in an effort to control his temperature while Altaïr attempted to untangle his body from the bed sheets. Once the bandages on Ezio's waist were exposed, he began to slowly remove them. Ezio's face was contorted in a grimace and he occasionally grunted or mumbled some incomprehensible phrase in his sleep. Connor crouched idly by Altaïr, shining a flashlight so he could see what he was doing as the last bit of sunlight disappeared from the sky and left them enveloped in darkness.

Altaïr's tongue escaped through the corner of his mouth as he worked. Soon the old bandages were removed and thrown aside, exposing an angry red bullet hole in the lower abdomen. The entire area was enflamed and red and blood and puss oozed out from the sides of the hole. The infection had definitely spread since the last time he'd done this. Beside him, Connor gagged and turned away. For someone who could inflict nasty injuries on a person, he sure couldn't stand to look at one closely. Altaïr however, remained stoic as he washed the wound and carefully applied new bandages from the first aid kit.

"This should've been cleaned a long time ago," he grumbled, applying the last bandage and covering his friend back up with the sheets.

Connor stuck the butt of the flashlight in his mouth as he put the supplies back into the first aid box and snapped it shut. "What took you so long?" he asked as Altaïr went and washed his hands in the kitchen sink. After a minute the water shut off and Altaïr returned, drying his hands with a dishtowel.

"Getting the stupid thing was cake until a couple agents decided to take a stroll through Rite Aid," he growled, glaring at nothing in particular and throwing the dishtowel in the corner.

The hair on the back of Connor's neck rose at the mention of agents. "They found us?" The lead weight had come back and sank to his toes. They'd spent too much on getting away from Vidic and his goons, being discovered now would just prove their efforts to be a waste of time. Altaïr shook his head, however.

"We passed one of their new offices on the way into town, my bet is they were just patrolling the area."

"Did you kill them?"

Altaïr shook his head again. "It wasn't worth risking them finding out we're here." He walked over to where Connor sat hunched in front of the fire. "I was unseen. Took a detour and it took me longer to get back."

Connor exhaled a heavy breath and leaned back against the wall. He didn't think he could survive being back in the hands of Abstergo. Altaïr flicked a light switch and cursed when nothing happened. "Stupid old man forgot to pay the bill again."

"Didn't you say this place belonged to your dad?"

Altaïr grunted. "Step-dad. Worthless piece of shit he ever was." He crossed his arms and stooped to sit beside Connor. "I'm glad he kicked me out."

Connor eyed his friend, unbelieving. "Wouldn't it have been better if you stayed with him? If he never kicked you out you never would've gotten picked up by Abstergo."

Altaïr stared into the fire and said nothing for a while. The room was quiet save for the light patter of rain and the occasional snore from Ezio. Connor looked him up and down. Altaïr had had a close relationship with his foster dad. Their relationship had started off better than most, and Connor presumed it was because of the heritage they shared in Syria. The man had been a mentor to Altaïr, the closest thing the boy had ever had to a real father, and Connor knew that. He was hurt. Connor could even tell in the way he held himself. His friend became bitter, more bitter than normal, when he was hurt. And especially so towards those who hurt him.

Altair cleared his throat suddenly and walked toward Ezio, placing a hand on his forehead. "His fever hasn't gone down. Do you still have that phone?"

Connor arched a brow at the change of subject but knew better than to press the issue. "The prepaid one? Yeah." He stuck a hand in his pocket and pulled the phone out and tossed it to Altaïr, who effortlessly caught it. They'd gotten a prepaid phone to share so they could have contact with their allies and escape any data scans Abstergo might undergo. Vidic had eyes and ears everywhere so it was better to be extra cautious.

"Call Malik, he should be able to come get us if his plane landed."

Altaïr nodded. "I would feel safer out of here now that we know there are agents around. And Ezio needs some help. Bad." He pressed a few buttons on the phone. He let out a sudden curse and Connor gave him a quizzical look. "We only have three minutes left on this thing." He glanced up at Connor over the phone. "How much cash do we have?"

"Not a lot."

For obvious reasons, they'd taken to using hard cash instead of plastic to pay for necessities. A computer trail of credit purchases would be too easy to follow.

Altaïr cursed again and pushed another button and held the phone to his ear. Connor listened as he quickly rattled off the address of the house they were in and described Ezio's condition. He'd pause occasionally for a brief moment before shouting some expletive into the receiver and threatening the man at the other end.

Poor Malik. He and Altaïr bickered and fought like an old married couple and most of the time, Altaïr won.

Another expletive sounded from Altaïr and he slammed the phone down.

"Is he coming?" Connor asked.

"Yes," Altaïr grumbled. "He better do so quickly because we're out of minutes." He stood and went into the kitchen. "I'm going to look around and see if the old man has any food stored around this place."

Connor stood and followed him. "Should I try and put clothes on Ezio or…just leave him the way he his?"

Altaïr didn't turn around from where he was rummaging around in the cupboards. "Let the bastard be naked, I don't care."

Malik arrived an hour later. Connor snuffed out the fire, making sure to not leave a single ember, and then proceeded to help Altaïr carry Ezio out through the rain into the back of Malik's SUV. They'd left him completely bare but had wrapped everything except his head in the bed sheets and Connor prayed none of the neighbors were watching because if they were, it would look like two men carrying the body of their newest victim.

"I really love what you've done with the place," Malik scoffed when they returned to the house to get their bags. He shined his flashlight over the white walls and empty, furniture less rooms. "Very homey."

Altaïr snorted as he walked past. "It reminds me of your sense of humor. Bland."

Malik glared at the back of his head and locked the door before shutting it. Altaïr jumped into the passenger seat and Connor climbed in the back with Ezio, throwing their bags into the trunk. The drive out of the neighborhood and onto the highway was silent and continued to be so until Altaïr pulled a bag of Doritos from the bottom of his backpack.

"I found this. It's better than nothing." He passed the bag back to Connor who took a handful and shoved it in his mouth. Altaïr wasn't ecstatic about his first meal in days being a stale bag of tortilla chips, but to Connor, this was like heaven in a bag.

"How was the flight from Jerusalem?" Connor asked as he chewed, leaning forward between the front seats. Malik glanced at him in the rearview mirror before returning his eyes to the road. The rain had become to pour harder and he turned on the windshield wipers.

"Long. Long and boring. The woman next to me smelled like mayonnaise and the man in front of me kept laughing hysterically over a movie he was watching. Don't talk with your mouth full."

"What movie was he watching?"

"Saving Private Ryan. You're not buckled."

Connor leaned back in his seat but still didn't buckle. "Where are we going?"

"Arlington. It's not too far from Seattle and I figured it'd be better than staying in the big city." He turned on his blinker and drove onto the highway heading north. "For now the plan is to lay low and stick to ourselves as much as possible. There is a small town not far from where we're going and that's where I think we should make base. It's out of the way and just enough people for you to blend in but not stand out. I already have the deal to rent a house down there, you guys will go to school and-"

"What?" The bag of Doritos shook in Altaïr's hand as he choked into his elbow. "School? Wasn't the plan to stay out of public areas as much as possible?"

Malik glowered. He hated being interrupted and by Altaïr especially. "We need a place to stay and draw the least amount of attention. What do you think would get Abstergo more interested, three kids in a big school or three kids in a whole town that don't go to school?"

He had a point, as much as Altaïr hated to admit it. He said nothing, only glared at the driver and grumbled into his Dorito bag.

Connor leaned forward again. "Is Edward flying up here still part of the plan?"

Malik nodded. "I don't know when, that is the problem. And with your phone out of minutes, there isn't a good chance you'll be getting in touch with him anytime soon." He glanced at Connor in the rearview mirror. "You're still not buckled."

"Where the hell are we supposed to get any money?" Altaïr growled from the passenger seat, the empty Dorito bag crumpled at his feet.

Malik rolled his eyes. "It looks to me like you are going to have to get off your asses and work. Like I do."

Altaïr snorted. "You mean collect handicapped payments?"

If Malik had two arms, Altaïr would have had a bloody nose by now. Connor rolled his eyes and Malik continued glowering through the windshield. "All I'm asking is to find a way to get yourself some cash, _legally._ If you do decide to get a job, tell me first. None of you can put your names on any legal documents without putting yourself at some serious risk."

"Then how will we go to school?"

Malik clutched the steering wheel tighter. "Fake names. I have the paperwork, I just need to fill it out."

Connor slow whistled. "Looks like you got us covered."

"For the love of God Connor, _put your friggin' seatbelt on._"

They arrived at the hotel around three in the morning. The rain had let up and Altaïr and Connor had taken turns watching over Ezio and taking care of his wound, which proved to be very difficult on a bumpy road. Once Malik and Altaïr had gotten into a very loud, very aggressive screaming match and Connor had to stop Malik from parking the car in the middle of the highway to haul Altaïr out of the car and beat his ass. Five hours later they'd arrived in one piece, and the exhausted teenagers helped Malik haul their stuff from the car to the room.

Getting Ezio past the front desk was tricky, and after twenty minutes of arguing they settled on sneaking him in through the pool entryway, which meant precariously passing him from one side of the fence to the other without dropping him in the water, and keeping a lookout for employees or anybody staying in the adjacent rooms as they carried him up the stairs and through the halls. Connor had argued to take the elevator, but Altaïr insisted that they take the stairs because they did not know who could be waiting to ride the elevator and see them carrying an unconscious body into the building. Connor finally agreed that it was too risky and with much grumbling and instructions from Malik, he and Altaïr carried Ezio up four flights of stairs while Malik kept watch. Malik's associate Doctor White met them at the door to their room and when it opened, Connor and Altaïr tripped over each other as they crossed the threshold and almost fell asleep where they landed on the floor. With much grumbling and arguing and insulting jabs from Malik, they finally situated Ezio on the couch where Doctor White checked up on Ezio and gave Malik some meds to give him to take in the morning.

"He could've helped us carry him up the stairs." Altaïr growled at Malik as they stood in the bathroom, brushing their teeth. Connor wearily moved the toothbrush back and forth in his mouth, almost falling asleep where he was standing.

Forty five minutes later, after they'd gotten sleeping arrangements situated with more bickering and insulting between Altaïr and Malik, Altaïr finally flopped onto the extra twin mattress they pulled out of the closet and Malik shared the king with Connor.

A couple times Connor got up to pee and smack Altaïr with a pillow when he wouldn't stop snoring, but eventually all was quiet and Connor fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.


End file.
